President Kovind appointed Professor Ganeshi Lal as the Governor of Odisha and Kummanam Rajasekharan to be the Governor of Mizoram.
President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday attended the Victory Day Parade as the 'Guest of Honour' in Dhaka as Bangladesh marked 50 years of victory in the Liberation War against Pakistan by showcasing its military might which included spectacular aerobatics and display of defence acquisitions.
Ram Nath Kovind is the first Bharatiya Janata Party leader and second Dalit in Rashtrapati Bhavan.
'It is a crisis of BJP's own doing. This is an in-house fire.'
A high-level committee on Thursday recommended simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and state assemblies as the first step followed by synchronised local body polls within 100 days.
The government has listed two bills related to 'one nation, one election' for introduction in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
The 81-year-old ex-president returned from Thailand a month after his "secret departure" sparked protests in Bangladesh for being allowed to leave despite being accused of murder.
At least eight MLAs of the opposition Congress in BJP-ruled Gujarat appeared to have voted for Kovind.
President Ram Nath Kovind will arrive in Dhaka on Wednesday on a maiden three-day State visit during which he will hold talks with his counterpart and attend the golden jubilee celebrations of Bangladesh's 1971 independence from Pakistan.
Chief Justice of India Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai spoke about Dr. B R Ambedkar's views on the supremacy of the Constitution and the need for an independent judiciary.
The government must develop a legally tenable mechanism in order to restore the cycle of simultaneous elections.
President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday addressed the nation on the eve of Republic Day. Watch his full speech HERE
"Frequent elections not only impose a huge burden on human resources but also impede the development process due to the promulgation of the model code of conduct. Therefore, a sustained debate is required on the subject of simultaneous elections and all political parties need to arrive at a consensus on this issue," he had said.
Addressing the fourth APJ Abdul Kalam Memorial Lecture at the Rashtrapati Bhavan auditorium in New Delhi, Kovind said that "every Indian is proud of that great son of the country."
According to a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique, President Kovind, along with the First Lady and other members of the family, joined the fellow citizens and expressed their gratitude towards all those who are safeguarding the health of the nation in spite of grave risk to them and their families. President Kovind also donated one-month salary to PM-CARES fund and has decided to forego 30 per cent of his salary for a year, it said in a series of slides mentioning various initiatives and work done during the third year of his presidency.
The refurbished Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera is now renamed Narendra Modi Stadium.
Modi noted that his interaction with Kovind, a long time BJP member before being appointed first as Bihar governor and then President, goes beyond his presidency.
The retired president is also entitled to a secretarial staff consisting of a private secretary, an additional private secretary, one personal assistant, two peons, and office expenses up to Rs 1 lakh per annum.
The move comes a day after the government called a special session of Parliament between September 18 and 22, the agenda for which is under wraps.
President Droupadi Murmu and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto arrived at Kartavya Path for the 76th Republic Day parade in a traditional horse-drawn buggy, a practice that made a comeback after a 40-year gap last year. The gold-plated, horse-drawn buggy is a black carriage with the national emblem embossed on it in gold. It was discontinued after the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984 but was revived by President Pranab Mukherjee in 2014. The buggy's history dates back to the British era, with India winning ownership through a coin toss after independence.
"It is a very proud moment for us. The country is celebrating," Kovind's daughter Swati said.
The former Bihar governor will be accompanied by senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Union minister Nitin Gadkari in the UP leg of the tour.
Kumar's support to the NDA candidate will be a major setback for opposition parties.
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister late Kalyan Singh, often termed as a Hindutva icon, and actor Victor Banerjee were among the 65 distinguished personalities who were conferred with Padma awards by President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, vice president Rahul Gandhi, Left parties and CMs of various states congratulated Kovind.
Kovind said the UP legislature has a glorious history of dignified amicability between the ruling party and the Opposition.
President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Savita Devi on Friday boarded a special train from Safdarjung railway station in New Delhi for his native place in Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
The president made a special mention of the threat to the environment and asked all citizens to take care of it for future generations.
After assuming office, President Murmu inspected a tri-services guard of honour at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
"He is also from RSS ranks. He was president of Dalit BJP Morcha... Sangh Pariwar organisation. Definitely, we will put up a candidate. Anybody from RSS... we will fight," CPI General Secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy said.
The ruling faction's announcement came two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi rang up Palaniswami to seek his party's support.
A constitutional amendment bill for holding Lok Sabha and assembly elections simultaneously is likely to be introduced in Parliament on Tuesday and could be referred to a joint committee of the two Houses.
Sources said the report of the law panel on simultaneous polls is not yet finalised. They said "some more things are required to be done", indicating that the law panel will be invited again by the high-level committee.
Modi said this government will offer all 'sahyog' to Kovind.
Taking to Twitter, AAP's Sanjay Singh shared a video of leaders greeting President Kovind at the farewell ceremony in the Central Hall of Parliament.
Most BJP-led NDA CMs will also be present when Kovind files his papers.
A senior Congress leader said the Opposition's presidential pick Meira Kumar might also pay a visit to Lucknow to seek votes from the electoral college as the party "will not leave any stone unturned" for the election.
On Sunday, under the shadow of Covid-19, several leaders and politicians, including President Ram Nath Kovind, chief ministers of various states, and several Union ministers, among others, performed yoga at their residence, along with their families. For the first time since June 21, 2015, Yoga Day is being celebrated digitally. This year's theme is 'Yoga at Home and Yoga with Family'. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on the occasion of Yoga Day and said that due to the coronavirus pandemic, the world is feeling the need for yoga more than ever.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met the freedom fighters and greeted them on this occasion. Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla were among the dignitaries present there.
Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai was on Wednesday sworn in as the 52nd Chief Justice of India.
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